Wednesday, April 29, 2009

FROM TOP: "Illy," 4" x 8", equine portrait, private collection (THANK YOU!) and "Bay Mare," 5" x 7", horse painting, $249. Both in acrylic on canvasboard, both from the Painting a Dog a Day project. Inquiries may come to me.

The brushwork in both these paintings makes me happy. I've learned to say more with less, and I very much like this style of painting.

There's new paintings added to my Etsy store. This is a great location where it is easy to browse through unsold Dog-a-Day artwork, and there is a mess of other wildly talented artists and artisans over there as well. Enjoy your time on Etsy, and pick up something special for Mother's Day.

For that matter, if you tell me your purchase is for a Mom, I'll give you 10% off. What the heck, let's include newly booked commissions for Moms in that as well - through Mother's Day, all purchases intended for Mom's qualify for 10% off. Sound good? hope so!!

Meanwhile, I'm headed back to the easel to work on another painting. Can't get enough of it today!

Thanks as always for sharing my paintings with your friends and family.

I did two paintings yesterday of Tony, and my friend has chosen this one to hang on her wall. I think I have now painted every one of her animals at least once..... (I know she'll correct me if I'm wrong).

I wish it were otherwise, but this was one of those days spent focused on the business aspect of studio operations. There is a myth that artists paint all day and do little else - it's actually the opposite. I'm lucky to paint 2-3 hours 5 days a week - it's a constant balancing act and battle to carve more creation time out of my work days. But both sorts of tasks are absolutely necessary in a thriving business.

Today was spent (or rather still is being spent) corresponding with clients, following up on inquiries, wrapping and shipping a number of paintings, touching up another portrait, starting a studio deep-clean, and getting some layout work done on the new book.

Speaking of books, those new to Painting a Dog a Day may not know that there is a book recapping the first 15 months of the daily dog portraits. I'll be happy to personalize or inscribe your copy - please email me to place your order.

Thanks, as always, for looking at and sharing these paintings with your friends and family.

I painted this 30x40 oil on gallery-wrapped canvas as I was transitioning between series. I had been working on Equine Spirit paintings - somewhat abstracted/fantasy/dream images of horses that had more to do with capturing the essence of equine rather than literal interpretation. I was moving into (although I didn't realize it at the time) my totem animal series.

In this piece I really tried to suspend my own idea of what the painting should be and let the horses guide me. The thing I kept thinking about was the very subtle way horses communicate with each other - the position of an ear, a swish of a tail, an almost imperceptible shift in weight. To the untrained eyes, this small band of horses may seem to be completely at rest, unaware. But if you look at their ears, you can see as a group they are listening to each other and to sounds from the woods beyond. And they are aware of the viewer.

Monday, April 27, 2009

"Afternoon Sun," 6" x 12," acrylic on canvasboard, from the Painting a Dog a Day project, $359 to the first one raising their hand. On your mark, get set, go!! ....inquiries may come to me.

As tradition in Painting a Dog a Day, the week before the Kentucky Derby is turned over to the horses. This week is an excuse to indulge in my lifelong love - I don't specifically paint Thoroughbreds during Derby Week but revel in all equine shapes and colors.

So here's your first piece, a draft mix lazily grazing his way into the picture plane while the sun glances off his flanks. This is Tony, a huge lug of a sweetheart belonging to a good friend of mine who also happens to be a brilliant equine photographer. Check out Juliet's work at her website, including her newly published book.

Tony's piece is a lovely quiet painting that would make a nice accent to a variety of interiors. Email me if you have any questions about how to get this one on your wall.

I can squeeze in one or two more equine paintings this week, if you care to nominate someone. Send your ideas to me via email.

Thanks, as always, for sharing my artwork with your friends and family.

Three horses wait for breakfast in the dawn's early light. This piece is painted in a very loose, painterly style. My intent in painting this was to create a painting that "reads" like it has detail but actually has very little. I'm happy with the results. 6x12, oil on gallery wrapped canvas.Click here to find out more about this painting.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

For several months now I have been posting 'daily paintings' on my blog at http://www.amulti-coloredlife.blogspot.com/ I confess I don't do a daily painting each day but rather fit them in between commissions and other more involved paintings. A daily painting for me is one defined as being completed in one sitting. The idea is to pack as much as I can into these paintings but because of the self imposed time limit I can not get too 'fussy'. What happens is the brushstrokes become bolder and more efficient and the work is looser and livelier. Thats the idea anyways! I sell my daily paintings at my Art Studio at Second April Art Gallerieor online at my Etsy Shop thrupaypal.

Above you will see a few examples of my daily paintings on sale now. I paint horses but also do other animals as well. Some of my work also has an Amish or rural theme since that is representative of where I live.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

My friend Janet raises Norwegian Fjord horses (along with sheep and livestock guard dogs!) on her farm in Minnesota. This is "Helga." She is facing the woods beyond, but has an eye on the viewer, as if questioning whether to keep moving in that direction. When I was painting this, Janet was dealing with a bold and very aggressive coyote pack that was luring her guard dogs out onto the highway beyond the trees. I imagined as I was painting that those coyotes were waiting in the woods, and that Helga was on the lookout.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

This 24 x24 oil is at the Collective Fine Art Gallery in Fort Collins. In this painting I'm trying to use the same technique that I've been using with my Totem Animal series - but with the suggestion of a landscape, since I want to show the mare and foal connected not only to each other, but to their surroundings. Both the mare and foal are aware of the viewer, and so the connection goes beyond their world and enters ours, as we enter theirs.

I received notice that the above paintings were juried into the esteemed Third Annual Dancing Horse Farm Equine Art Exhibition. The exhibition will be held at the world class Dancing Horse Farm in Lebanon, Ohio from May 2nd through May 10th, 2009. This will overlap with the farm's Spring Fling Weekend, a horse show with Dressage, Combined Test and Fun Classes. For more information, please visit Dancing Horse Farm's website.

These paintings have been exquisitely framed in custom moldings and will be available for purchase through Dancing Horse Farm. Inquiries may come via email to the exhibition coordinators.

Meanwhile, per Painting a Dog a Day rituals of year's past, I will be creating new equine paintings during Derby Week, which is the first week in May. Want to nominate your horse for inclusion? Please do! Photos (non-flash please) may be sent to ksantini@turtledovedesigns.com. Meanwhile stay tuned to the Painting a Dog a Day project for your Kentucky Derby dose of horse art and virtual mint juleps, no fancy hat required.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

I just opened the June Riverside workshop today, and already six of the ten slots are filled with deposits. Wow. I know that the Color System is such a needed tool for artists, as I can see that it works; I saw it in students' work this past weekend. I took some more images from this last workshop, and will be sharing their paintings with you in the days to come.

Here is the one I did as the demonstration for evening light, on a 12 x 16 panel in oils, using the Color System to convey time of day on the light falling on the pack mule and the landscape. It is a quick study, roughly done in about 30 minutes. However even at this loose stage, the light is set and the color "reads right" for the warm late afternoon. The students then took their own source material, and spent a half day doing their own paintings in evening light.

Here's Pat's 8 x 10 acrylic which she did from her own black and white photograph. I enjoy seeing every student's painting style in these workshops. And so fun to see the wheels turning in everyone's head as they THINK about painting!

I have a new flyer for the workshop in Florida. You can view it online here, and please share it with your friends nearby in Florida. Five days of Color Boot Camp!

Friday, April 3, 2009

The rain is coming down and hopefully will melt a lot of the piled up snow in our barn yard and gardens. I took a break from the studio yesterday while the sun was out and got some raking done...and today I suffer for it. Guess I discovered muscles that weren't worked over the winter, even with daily workouts mucking stalls!!!This morning, before the rain started, I was able to get a shot of the latest casein off the easel, a 20 x 16" done on board....and I am calling it "Driven". This painting will be going to my solo show next month. The show is called "Finding My Voice" and will be hung at Gallery B in the city of Lexington, KY. I am so happy to say that a portion of all sales in this show will be donated to The National Stroke Foundation. I will be post more on it later.I have quite a few shows on the agenda this summer and will keep you all up to date on my website Events page. It seems lately that I am juggling too many balls in the air!! But I plan to keep them all airborne! suffice it to say..."I am "Driven!"!!

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